Taj Mahal turns green due to insect droppings. ASI finds solution in cotton, water

For now, the green droppings have been removed and the affected surfaces of the Taj Mahal have been scrubbed clean. (File photo)

Insect droppings are turning parts of the Taj Mahal’s white exterior green, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found. This insect species -- Goeldichironomus -- breeds in the sewage-filled waters of the Yamuna and its droppings turn greyish black over time, experts said.

To combat this, the ASI has come up with a solution -- water and cotton. Last week, members of ASI's science division scrubbed the affected parts of the Taj Mahal clean with cotton and water before polishing the surface again with cotton to restore its sheen, The Print reported.

But, while ASI’s chief assistant conservator at the Taj Mahal Prince Vajpayee assured the publication that all traces of the insect's excreta has been removed from the monument, he could not promise that it wouldn't happen again since this is the ideal breeding time for the insect species responsible for it.

“Unless the Yamuna is cleaned and these insects are eradicated with a regular flow of clean water in the river, these spots will continue to reappear at the Taj Mahal," Vajpayee told The Print. "And now the ASI will be conducting routine inspections of the marble surface of the monument to clean these green spots as they start to appear so that the monument does not appear unsightly from these spots.”

He added that there are parts of the Taj Mahal that are especially vulnerable to the attack of these insects, such as the north-eastern minaret, and these parts will be cleaned regularly.

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